Iida Shojiro (1888-1980)

Iida Shojiro was born in Yamaguchi prefecture and
graduated from the Military Academy in 1908 as an infantryofficer. He
graduated from the Army Staff College in 1915 and was part of a
commission that examined the tactical lessons of the First World War.
He served with the Siberian
Expedition following the First World War, and was three times an
instructor at the Infantry School. He served in important staff
positions and as commander of the Imperial
Guards Division (1939-1941.)

Iida was commander of 15
Army at the
outbreak of the
Pacific War. His headquarters was ordered to direct the
occupation of Thailand and
conquest of Burma.
Since the Burma operation was not to take place until the second
phase of the Japanese offensive,
his army was little more than a
skeleton until
mid-January of 1942.

On 8 April 1943, Iida was relieved as
commander of Burma
Area Army and recalled to Tokyo.
He retired in 1944, but was recalled in 1945 to command 30
Army in Manchuria. He
arrived at his new command just in time to be captured by the Russians, who did not repatriate him
until 1950.

Iida was close to Ba Maw, the Burmese puppet Prime Minister, who believed Iida was different from the racist officers that came to Burma from China or Korea (Allen 1984):

I had found him to be a unique type of Japanese soldier,
human, fatherly, and very understanding, a militarist on the surface
but not altogether so deeper down; at least he always tried to see
things your way too, which was what made him different from the other
militarists.... The general was a samurai in his almost mystical devotion to his emperor,
his warrior caste and code, and his country, but this very devotion
which consumed him made him understand the devotion of others to their
own gods.